Heard on the Hill: Moving On Up

Rep. Rob Wittman (right) and Staff Assistant Gordon Neal carry a replica of a yellowfin tuna while moving offices in the Longworth House Office Building. Wittman caught the original 308-pound fish in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Mexico.

Rep. Rob Wittman isn’t afraid to roll up his sleeves, grab a tool set and get to work. HOH watched as the Virginia Republican wielded an electric drill while perched high atop a ladder in his new space in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday morning.

Wittman, who is moving offices, proceeded to hang two stuffed deer heads as employees for the Architect of the Capitol looked on helplessly. And he wasn’t done decorating. He also personally moved a nearly 6-foot-long replica of a 308-pound tuna across the hall from his old office to his new digs.

“I like handling it myself and letting it swim across the hall ceremoniously,” Wittman told HOH, shortly before breaking out a Clorox wipe and polishing the big tuna.

Staffers have long referred to the office as “the fishbowl,” an homage to the large collection of mounted fish and stuffed waterfowl lining the walls.

Wittman loves taxidermy, but he’s not a fan of the live critters that inhabited his old Longworth office.

An aide tells HOH that the move was spurred by a mouse problem. In fact, Wittman’s chief of staff even found rodent droppings on her desk as recently as last week.